On this venture of mine I plan to do a number of things. To post paintings which are for sale...to post a daily painting...and show some works in progress( demos). The art will be in Oils with an Acrylic sneaking in now and then.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

These flowers have bloomed in my yard here in Ohio every Spring. They don't stay around long. It seemed every time I got in the mood to paint them they weren't in the mood to pose...they withered up and left town till next year! Well this time I didn't procrastinate and caught 'em in the act of lookin' good. The paint is applied thickly for good textural effect. The sharp value contrast creates tension and excitement. This is about expression and creating! I hope you like it.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Oil on 5x7 archival canvas panel.Finally...Here's one I'm happy with! Everything went down on the canvas surprisingly easily. Love when that happens. I invented the background to compliment the subject. Great color relationships...contrast...value range. Forgive my if I appear to be bragging on this one...you may or may not agree. But if you don't toot your horn once in a while, everyone will think you have a dead battery...

Friday, April 25, 2008

Benjamin Franklin suggested the wild turkey for the national bird...because it is so savvy and wary. The Bald Eagle won out. I for one am glad the Eagle won...it's a sad thought to be eating the national emblem on Thanksgiving.... .

This is oil on 5x7 archival canvas panel. For this one, I covered the support with black gesso. It's a lot of fun to paint against the black backdrop!! I used a painting knife where I could, and tried to avoid unnecessary detail.Thanks for the great references for this week's WDE at Wet Canvas, Ruby.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I quite frequently set specific goals for myself before beginning a painting. My goals for this rooster were: use varied, close value, broken color....Use plenty of paint( gobs)....use the painting knife for a larger percent of the painting than I normally do (stay away from the brush as much as possible thus avoiding getting caught up in unnecessary detail)....mix much of the colors directly on the panel.

To these ends I feel I was fairly successful. Right now I'm happy with it....gotta look it over a little while.

Monday, April 21, 2008

I'm still on a little explorative jaunt. I'm trying to go to places I've never gone before in acrylics...funny...just had a flash back of Star Trek, heh. My mission is to push the envelope of contrast until the light makes you squint. That's why there are extreme darks here...they are needed to express the bright light. Must go now...I'm informed we have Klingons approaching at warp speed.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Now, time for something different! This is acrylic on a 5x7 archival canvas panel.

Over the last few oil paintings, I have felt that something was lacking...unsatisfied with the result...missing the "old days" when there was an excitement looking at a freshly completed piece of art and making great discoveries in this or that area.

Time to break the boredom. I used to paint exclusively in acrylics before starting in oils about 6 years ago. Today I had a crack at acrylics once again and it was a blast. This isn't exactly the image I had in mind, but I let the painting lead me...I let the color fly. Tho not perfection, I can feel the thrill with this one. This is not about reality, but expression and creating! I hope you like it...let me know.Unavailable

Friday, April 18, 2008

Thanks, Mithila, for all those great images! She was gracious enough to supply the reference photos for this week's WDE at the Wet Canvas.I chose the tiger 'cause I love a tiger's appearance... its' majesty. But this albino tiger grabbed my attention for the very unconventional colors...very untiger-y.This is oil on a 7x5 archival canvas panel. I first pre toned the panel with several warm acrylics. The marbled toned surface looked so good, I had to force myself to paint on top of it. Much of the acrylic shows through in the painting.I used both a painting knife and a brush...I'm happy with the texture. Hope you enjoy it!Available

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

A perfect symbol of Spring! A fawn amongst new forest growth...the continuance of life..the start of a magnificent adventure. The paint was applied with both a painting knife and a brush. Great texture.

Another attempt at a fresh bunch of strokes, varied in color & contrast hopefully finally coming together like the shapes of a jigsaw puzzle to form a recognizable image of flowers which is of a captivating composition and interest holding surface texture, and furthermore, any small section picked at random should in itself be a little gem of an abstract when beheld separately from the rest of the painting. Whew!! No dang wonder painting wears me out! Excuse me, I'm gonna take a nap.

Friday, April 11, 2008

This is oil on 7x5 archival canvas panel.As usual, I first toned the support with a mixture of warm acrylics. I tried to keep the colors and strokes fresh by not overworking. I think I succeeded on some parts. As for the others...there will be a next time...another painting down the road. The highlights on the right edge of her face in the close up jpg. aren't quite as stark IRL.Available

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Oil on 7x5 archival canvas panel.I wanted to play with complements in the painting. So I pushed the color just past the brim of ho-hum reality. I also pushed the thickness of the paint...seeking texture...simulating feathers and waves.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Oil on 7x5 archival canvas panel.Another longhorn! I usually don't do the same subject back to back. But, in this case, I wanted to perhaps apply what I gleaned from the previous longhorn post. The colors were largely pre mixed...I varied the paint piles as needed. The paint has been generously applied with both a painting knife and brush. The textured paint and directional strokes create a very interesting surface! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for looking.AvailableEmail me to inquire about purchasing

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Oil on 5x7 archival canvas panel.This painting was originally posted on March, 22nd. I had some reservations when I posted it but wasn't too sure as to why. I came up with what I believe is the solution to my doubts...the color of the steer and the color of the sky were very strong and very separate. They both had to be integrated to exist in harmony upon the same canvas. By adding more variations of color...some sky into the steer... some steer into the sky, it simply "feels" better. This is a recurring problem ( and solution) for me.AvailableEmail me to inquire about purchasing

About Me

I enjoy painting all subjects. To cause a viewer to pause and see the beauty in even a mundane object. But I must admit my special interest is animals of all sorts.
While I did attend the Columbus College of Art And Design for one year, I am largely self taught. My main contemporary influences are Richard Schmid and Scott Burdick.
Hope you enjoy my art, and please feel free to comment, or email me ...I'd love to hear your questions or thoughts!